fastcgi_request_buffering in Nginx

When working with Nginx and the ngx_http_fastcgi_module, one of the important settings that we need to consider is fastcgi_request_buffering. This setting gives us greater control over how requests are processed. Is it certain that this setting is configured in what state, and how can it affect the performance of your website? Let's take a look at it.

Overall, fastcgi_request_buffering tells Nginx whether to buffer FastCGI requests in memory or not. By default, this setting is active and allows Nginx to gather data before sending it to the FastCGI server. This can enhance performance and reduce resource consumption.

However, in some situations, you might want to disable this feature. For example, if you are processing large data with significant delays involved, disabling this setting might help achieve better performance for your application. In this case, data is sent directly to the FastCGI server, and you will likely experience less delay.

Also, keep in mind that utilizing this feature extensively might lead to greater resource consumption because Nginx has to handle all requests in memory. Therefore, proper tuning of this setting can assist in improving the overall performance of your server.

# Enabling buffering for FastCGI requests
fastcgi_request_buffering on;

# Disabling buffering for FastCGI requests
fastcgi_request_buffering off;

Here you can see two essential commands that will help you tune fastcgi_request_buffering. By using the two commands below, you can enable or disable this setting:

Command Descriptions